Better stop short than fill to the brim.
Oversharpen the blade, and the edge will soon blunt.
Amass a store of gold and jade, and no one can protect it.
Claim wealth and titles, and disaster will follow.
Retire when the work is done.
This is the way of heaven.
~ Tao Te Ching, Nine ~
The underlying message of this verse is clear -- don't overdo; stop when you have enough. When you have more than enough things, you create stress in your life. You must protect them from being coveted or stolen. You must be ever on guard for those who envy you. More importantly, in our thing-based society, someone will always have more than you do and this causes most people to want to generate and possess even more stuff.
Of course, there IS one inherent problem within this simple passage: What constitutes enough? Is enough just what you need for today or today AND tomorrow or today, tomorrow and who knows when?
There is no singular answer. There is no absolute measure of enough. For some souls it will be quite a lot; for others it will be very little. It's something each of us must figure out for ourselves.
In trying to figure out what is enough, we must separate what we need from what we want. Therein lies the key. Too often we define enough by the latter when, in fact, it should be determined by the former. The reason for this is obvious. Want is insatiable. Need is based on what is sufficient.
'Nough said.
Of course, there IS one inherent problem within this simple passage: What constitutes enough? Is enough just what you need for today or today AND tomorrow or today, tomorrow and who knows when?
There is no singular answer. There is no absolute measure of enough. For some souls it will be quite a lot; for others it will be very little. It's something each of us must figure out for ourselves.
In trying to figure out what is enough, we must separate what we need from what we want. Therein lies the key. Too often we define enough by the latter when, in fact, it should be determined by the former. The reason for this is obvious. Want is insatiable. Need is based on what is sufficient.
'Nough said.
Enough is hard to equate as in terms of ownership the trap is limitless. Enough trees for you an I is that neither of us own those trees. If I own a forest then you don't have enough.
ReplyDeleteWhen we are simple in need then there is more than enough to go around.
Excuse the poor examples.
This is something that's been on my mind for a couple of years now. Enough is the difference between a plate of good food and going back for seconds - eating with your eyes (or mind) instead of your stomach. Or it's the difference between feeling the itch to take a walk on a nice, sunny day and deciding to stay inside and watching TV instead.
ReplyDelete"To know that enough is enough is enough."
I used to be a computer tech / network engineer. I noticed again and again, that having got a machine 99% perfect, I was compelled to get it 100% perfect.
ReplyDeleteThat final 1% was always my undoing.
Everything would suddenly go hopelessly wrong, and tumble, like a house of cards, into chaos.
Now I gladly settle for 99% perfect, or even slightly less :)